“They’re a very typical Florida State defense from our standpoint. I’ve had a chance to play against Florida State quite a bit during my tenure here at Maryland, and this defense is as talented as those defenses that I’ve faced back when I was here before. Joyner is an exceptional football player, like you said. Not just a great corner. They move him around, play him at nickel, he pass rushes, he’s a guy who you need to know where he is and you need to account for.”

On reviewing the game film from Florida State’s game at Boston College:

“Anytime we watch film, we would hope we that we’re able to find some things we need to try to take advantage of. They’re well-rounded and BC is a little different than we are schematically. I thought Florida State obviously came out with a win, and they did enough to win the ball game.

“For us, it always starts with us first and foremost, taking care of the things we can control with not turning the ball over, executing at a high level, making sure we convert the third downs, and then obviously scoring touchdowns in the red zone is real important. To beat a good team like Florida State, you got to have a few breaks go your way, and our guys need to make sure we give ourselves a chance by getting the game into the fourth quarter.”

On bye-week adjustments:

“I think we started out pretty well as far as, I like to say, staying clean with the turnovers the last couple of games, especially in the West Virginia game, whether it due to rain or lack of security of the ball, we went back and made sure that we’re reemphasizing, we’ve got to take care of the football to be any good on offense. We definitely hit some of the fundamentals and technical things that you do during the bye week. Coach [Edsall] obviously adjusted practice schedule to where we had more individual time, so we were able to go back to some of the foundation and fundamental things that it takes to be successful.”

On preparing for the crowd noise at Doak Campbell Stadium:

“We have the whole two weeks. For me it’s a little nerve-wracking with the music turned up loud. For two straight weeks, I think it’s good for our players. It makes them focus in, have to really pay attention to seeing the ball and locking in from a focus standpoint. Again, what a great atmosphere, it’s what coach shared with our guys, what a great opportunity to go play in front of a big crowd, and on the road, having played down there it’s a great atmosphere.”

Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart

On Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston:

“I think Winston is doing a great job right now as a redshirt freshman as far as controlling the offense, getting the ball to the right guys and reading coverages. [He] does a good job improvising also. He’s a special player and it’s a great challenge for us.”

On Jameis Winston’s escape ability:

“Luckily or unluckily, we’ve played a lot of quarterbacks that have that escape ability. When we played against ODU, I thought that was one of the better guys I saw move around a little bit. That being the case, I think you’ve just got to practice and simulate that with our backup quarterbacks to help us on scout team. They do a great job of doing that; moving around and throwing the ball late.”

On slowing down Florida State’s offense:

“Our basic defensive philosophy is to stop the run and then make the team one-dimensional, and then we play from there. That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go out there and load up the box, stop the run and try to get them to be one-dimensional. The score of the game also helps that, and then we’ll be able to play the pass game from there.”

On Maryland’s increase in team speed over the last year:

“It’s always a work in progress. I like our guys. Our team speed and our recruiting has picked up since I’ve been here. I’m excited about the young guys we have.

“The consistency in the offensive and defensive philosophies has helped our team play fast. The smarter you are, the faster you play. I think that’s the big key.”

On his confidence in the defensive backs playing man-to-man defense against Florida State’s wide receivers:

“Watching us play West Virginia, we didn’t play man coverage at all. They had to cover the routes and be where they were supposed to be. Every game presents a different challenge. We just go with the flow of the game, but as we prepare for them, I’ve got confidence in all the DBs, from Sean Davis to Will Likely, that we could play some man if we wanted to do that at a high level. “

– Maryland –

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• Maryland wraps up a difficult January stretch when it heads to Tallahassee to take on Florida State Wednesday night. The Terps have played four of their last five against teams ranked in the top 36 of the RPI, including three in the top 15 (at Miami – No. 3; vs. NC State – No. 15; at Duke – No. 1). Maryland and Florida State met in College Park on Jan. 9, with the Seminoles overcoming a nine-point halftime deficit to win, 65-62.

• In the loss at then-No. 1 Duke on Saturday, Maryland shot 41.7 percent from the field. The Terps had been 13-0 when shooting above 40 percent this season, but the Blue Devils became the first team to crack the 50-percent barrier against Maryland, finishing at 52.4 percent. Dez Wells and Charles Mitchell led Maryland with 13 points apiece, and Alex Len had eight points and 10 rebounds.

• The Terps have held six of seven ACC opponents under 38 percent shooting and had held the last five opponents to 65 points or fewer before Duke scored 84. Opponents are shooting just 36.0 percent against Maryland this season, a mark which ranks fourth nationally behind just Kansas (34.9), Texas (35.3) and Syracuse (35.9). Maryland has also outrebounded all 20 opponents this season and ranks second in the country in rebounding margin (plus-10.4), behind only Colorado (plus-14.1).

• With seven of the 10 players in Maryland’s regular rotation either freshmen or sophomores, the majority of Maryland’s scoring this season has come from underclassmen. Of the 71.4 points per game Maryland is averaging, 58.2 come from underclassmen (82 percent). The Terrapins top five scorers are all freshman or sophomores.

• Len narrowly missed out on his sixth double-double of the year with eight points and 10 rebounds vs. the Blue Devils. He continues to lead the team in scoring (13.2 points per game) and rebounding (8.3 per game), while Wells is second on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg) and assists (3.0 per game).

Maryland-Florida State Series History

• Maryland leads the all-time series, 29-12, which dates back to 1992. The Seminoles have won two straight, which matches their longest winning streak in the series. The teams have split the last 10 games.

• Maryland’s last win in the series came on 2/23/2011 at home, and its last win on the road came on 2/4/2010. All-time, Maryland has a 10-8 advantage in Tallahassee. (See complete series history, page 4).

• In the first meeting this season, Maryland led 36-27 at halftime before Florida State outscored the Terps 38-26 in the second half to win, 65-62. Alex Len had 15, Nick Faust had 14 and Seth Allen had 13 to lead Maryland, while Okaro White scored a game-high 20 for FSU, Michael Snaer had 15 and Ian Miller had 12. The Seminoles also recorded 13 blocks – a game high by a Maryland opponent this year.

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